KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (January 27, 2007) - The No. 49 ETSU men's tennis team fell in a hard-fought battle to the No. 24 Tennessee Volunteers Sunday, at the Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center in Knoxville. ETSU falls to 4-1 on the year while Tennessee improves to 3-0.

The Vols jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as they swept the doubles point. Alex Ahlgren (Tyreso, Sweden) and Oscar Posada (Valencia, Venezuela) fell to Kaden Hensel and J.P. Smith, 8-3 in the No. 1 position, 8-2, while the No. 33 tandem of Enrique Olivares (Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela) and Sebastian Serrano (Cartagena, Colombia) fell to Boris Conkic and Davey Sandgren, 8-4 in the second slot. Tennessee completed the sweep of the doubles when Matteo Fago and Jeremy Tweedt topped Lisandro Picardo (Mar Del Plata, Argentina) and Daniel Isaza (Medellin, Colombia), 8-5 in the No. 3 position.

Tennessee then took a 2-0 lead as No. 28 Boris Conkic defeated Predrag Burmazovic (Belgrade, Serbia) in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2 in the third position, but the Bucs rallied back to close the gap at 2-1 when No. 49 Enrique Olivares dropped Kaden Hensel in the top seed, 7-6(4), 6-3. The Vols were again able to increase their lead as No. 93 J.P. Smith defeated Sebastian Serrano in the No. 2 slot, 7-6(3), 6-3.

The Bucs closed the gap a second time at 3-2 when Lisandro Picardo rallied from a set down to defeat Matteo Fago in the No. 4 slot, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). However it would not be enough as Davey Sandgren clinched the match for Tennessee defeating Oscar Posada in a tight battle, 7-5, 6-4. In the sixth position Chris Racz earned the final point for the Vols narrowly edging Alex Ahlgren, 7-6(5), 7-6(6).

The Bucs will be back in action on February 2 as they travel to Athens, Ga. to take on second-ranked and the defending National Champion Georgia Bulldogs. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m. Follow all ETSU men's tennis action at www.ETSUBucs.com.